Elizabeth: 1808–Early 1811
Within a few months of her father's death, Elizabeth adjusted to living at Greystone, although she missed her father and sisters very much, particularly Mary. The Harrisons were loving and attentive to her, and her cousin was an intelligent boy and an excellent playmate.
Her aunt, in particular, spent several hours of the day with her and warmly embraced the role of mother that Elizabeth had lacked for most of her life.
At Greystone, she felt loved and like an essential family member. Her aunt was in the habit of visiting the estate tenants, and Elizabeth began to accompany her. She also joined the church's weekly sewing group. Within a year of her father's death, her innate joie de vivre had returned. Although she often thought of her dear father, the memories no longer made her cry.
In late 1810, the Harrisons and Elizabeth travelled to London for the winter; during those months, Elizabeth had the opportunity to see Jane several times. She met Charles and Caroline Bingley at a dinner at the Gardiners'. Since Caroline hated continuing to associate with merchants, upon learning Elizabeth was a gentleman's daughter and lived on an estate, she conversed with Elizabeth on superficial topics. However, due to the lack of common interests, it was clear neither of the two young women intended to pursue a friendship.
The Harrisons had a wide circle of friends, and once or twice a week, they received invitations to dinners and parties. At one such event, Elizabeth met the charming Mr. Wickham, who was born in Derbyshire and had moved to London a few years ago, where he was supposedly finishing his studies as a lawyer.
To Elizabeth's eyes, the gentleman was the most handsome she had ever met and kind, charming, and friendly. He could discuss various topics and listened carefully when she spoke. After seeing each other three times, Wickham asked permission to visit her, as he wanted to get to know her better. Elizabeth happily accepted as she liked the gentleman very much, and the Harrisons initially had no objection. Since they loved Elizabeth as if she were their daughter and found Wickham too charming, to be honest, they hired a private investigator to find out the gentleman's financial situation. Victoria had a feeling the gentleman was a fortune hunter and would make her dear Elizabeth suffer.
Every day that Mr. Wickham visited Elizabeth, Victoria, in addition to staying with her niece for the entire visit, she asked the gentleman several questions to determine his character.
It took a couple of weeks, but the investigator gave them a full report stating that Mr. Wickham had not finished his studies at the university and was not studying law. He had no job or profession. He liked to live in luxury and spent more money than was prudent, given his financial situation. Furthermore, Mr. Wickham had at least two illegitimate children he did not care for.
Victoria shared the report with Elizabeth, and after a slight disappointment that the gentleman was not what he seemed, she was relieved to have learned of her suitor's true character in time.
From then on, Elizabeth became more suspicious when a gentleman was too 'charming' and showed too much interest in her.
The next time Wickham visited her, Mr. Harrison told him without a preamble that he was no longer welcome in his home.
Wickham was disappointed that his plans were once again foiled. He returned to the rooms he had been leasing for some years. It was the third time he had failed to marry his choice of heiress. He did not mind too much the previous two times, but in this case, he liked Miss Bennet very much and would gladly have married her.
He only had £4,000 left over from the sum he had inherited, as he had lost a lot of money gambling in the year following his godfather's death. He no longer made that mistake; he had learned to be moderate in his bets, but he knew that if he wanted to have a luxurious life, he needed to marry an heiress as soon as possible. Next time, he should choose his prey better. She should be a naive young lady whose guardian pays little attention to her.